Weekend Box Office: ‘The Help’ Retains the Top Spot

In a weekend that saw many East Coast theaters closed because of Hurricane Irene, ‘The Help’ remained atop the box office for the second week in a row.

The film, based on the best-selling book of the same name, has now earned a total of $96.6 million.

Two new releases — action movie ‘Colombiana’ and supernatural horror flick ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ — took second and third, respectively, while former box office champ ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ came in fourth. Another newcomer, the Paul Rudd comedy ‘Our Idiot Brother,’ rounded out the top five.